Cover image for City of thieves : a novel
City of thieves : a novel
Title:
City of thieves : a novel
Publication Information:
New York : Plume, [2009]
Physical Description:
10 books (258 pages) in a cloth bag ; 16 x 18 cm. + 1 reading group guide folder
General Note:
Originally published: New York : Viking, 2008.

A cloth bag containing 10 copies of the title and a folder with miscellaneous notes, discussion questions, biographical information, and reading lists to assist book group discussion leaders.
Summary:
A writer visits his retired grandparents in Florida to document their experience during the infamous siege of Leningrad. His grandmother won't talk about it, but his grandfather reluctantly consents. The result is the captivating odyssey of two young men trying to survive against desperate odds. Lev Beniov is small, smart, and insecure, a Jewish virgin too young for the army, who spends his nights working as a volunteer firefighter with friends from his building. When a dead German paratrooper lands in his street, Lev is caught looting the body and dragged to jail. He shares his cell with the charismatic and grandiose Kolya, a handsome young soldier arrested on desertion charges. Instead of the standard bullet in the back of the head, Lev and Kolya are given a shot at saving their own lives by complying with an outrageous directive: secure a dozen eggs for a powerful colonel to use in his daughter's wedding cake.
Holds: